


Anguish

by Inell



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drama, Ficlet, Post-War, Romance, The Quidditch Pitch: Eternity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-02
Updated: 2009-01-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 07:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10782273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inell/pseuds/Inell
Summary: They watch him sleep





	Anguish

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).
> 
>  **Author's notes:** **Requested By:** [](http://gilith-ramaloce.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://gilith-ramaloce.livejournal.com/)**gilith_ramaloce**

“He’s finally asleep.” Hermione leans back against Charlie when he puts his arms around her.

“Probably won’t be for long.” Charlie brushes his lips against her shoulder. “I don’t think he’s slept well in weeks. Victoire says that she hears him walking around at all hours. The kids are all worried about him.”

“I wouldn’t sleep well if I lost you unexpectedly,” she points out quietly. “I’d imagine he feels the same.”

He tightens his grip. “I don’t know if I’d _ever_ be able to sleep without you.”

Bill shifts and his hair falls across his back and face. It’s like a sea of red covering his freckled skin and pale face. She moves her fingers over Charlie’s hand, enjoying the safe feel of his arms around her. “Maybe the potion will help. I’m glad he agreed to try it. He’ll stay with us for a while, and we’ll do what we can to help.”

“Me too.” Charlie sighs. “It’s so frustrating, you know? He’s hurting so bad, but there’s nothing I can do except give him a bed and help with his kids.”

“You’re doing a lot, Charlie. It’s been a little over two months since Fleur died, and he’s making progress. You’ve helped him,” she reminds him softly. She hates to see him feeling so helpless, but this isn’t an injured dragon that he can help easily. Bill is grieving, and that’s not something that can simply be fixed.

“Doesn’t feel like it.” He kisses her shoulder again and moves his hand so that he’s holding hers. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

It takes her a moment to realize what he’s talking about. “I’m fine. He hasn’t really been acting like himself lately, so I’m not offended or upset about it.” She turns her head slightly so that she can look up at him. “Are you okay?”

He shrugs a broad shoulder and looks away from her to stare at Bill. “My brother kissed my wife. How am I supposed to feel?” Before she can say anything, he lowers his head and kisses her neck. “I’m not angry with him. He’s lost his wife, and, like you said, he’s not really himself right now. I was at first, wanted to punch him when he did it, but then I just felt—I don’t know. Frustrated and sad, I guess.”

She leans up and kisses his jaw. “He’ll probably be embarrassed about it tomorrow, if he even remembers.” Bill has been drinking a lot since Fleur’s death, which is another concern because it would be so easy for him to slip into an addiction. It’s one of Charlie’s biggest worries since the funeral, which is one reason that they asked him to stay with them for a few weeks. If they can help him sleep better and not use alcohol as a crutch, then maybe he’ll be able to move past the grieving and get back to living.

“He’ll remember. No one could forget kissing you, even if they were drunk,” he says matter-of-factly. In other circumstances, she would feel flattered and proceed to snog him senseless. Tonight isn’t the night for that, though. He’s still blaming himself for not remembering to toss out the bottle of Firewhisky before Bill arrived, so teasing will wait for another day.

She turns to face him, stroking his face before she presses her lips against his. “We should go to bed,” she murmurs when she pulls back. “It’s been a long day.”

He holds her closer and sighs as he buries his face in her hair. “He’s going to get better, isn’t he? We’re going to help him get past this?”

It’s a difficult question to answer because she doesn’t want to lie to him and make promises that she can’t keep. She tightens her arms around him. “I think so.”

“That’s good.” He kisses her deeply before he steps back out of the room. “I’ll go downstairs and make sure everything’s locked up.”

“Alright.” She watches him until he disappears down the stairs. When he’s gone, she walks to the bed and pulls the blanket up over Bill. Once she’s sure that he’s tucked in, she extinguishes the oil lamp and quietly leaves the room. She hears Charlie downstairs and smiles before she goes to their room to wait for him.

End


End file.
